voucher system, all part of ryan's plan. a new line fof attack, mitt romney ending medicare as we know it. how do you expect that message is going to resonate in florida in. >> again, it's a scare tactic democrats like to use. this is no different. florida has a lot of seniors obviously. the swing state messages are going to be interesting and a little bit diverse i'm sure. the message wars begin pretty much it seems like in earnest today. we're going to have dueling messages, one with obama in florida and mitt romney in the northeast. romney is going to get down to florida, make his case for the people down there. this is a very tight election. obviously every vote matters. with the seniors out there, they vote. they watch. they pay attention to all this. it's still a little bit early to see how these messages are going to resonate amongst that particular voting bloc, but it's early. and we'll see how they develop as this thing moves away. >> rachel, the obama campaign continuing to attack mitt romney on the issue of his tenure at bain capital and also, of

course, that refusal to release more than two years of tax returns. here's what romney had to say about those tax returns in an interview yesterday with an nbc ohio affiliate wnywo. take a listen. >> we're providing two years of tax returns, the most recent two years. there's also going to be someone who says, give me more. typically this is a partisan effort on the part of the other campaign. again, trying to deflect attention from the issues people care about. >> rachel, the insinuation that many folks point to here is that mitt romney may be hiding something. even several republicans now are pressing him to release more of his tax returns. ron paul being the most recent. >> that's right. the obama campaign has used this line of attack very successfully in the last few weeks to keep mitt romney on the defensive. romney continues to have to answer these charges. president obama, meanwhile, remains vulnerable on the economy. as the "times" poll showed today. but instead of the discussion being solely about that, which of course romney would like it

to be, the obama campaign has pushed back very hard both on the stewardship of bain and on the issue of the tax returns. we heard ann romney saying again this morning, we've given you what we're going to give you. >> let's play what ann romney said this morning. play it here. >> you just want to give more material for more attack and that's really -- that's just the answer. and we've given all people need to know and understand about our financial situation and about how we live our life. >> all you people need to know. keith, i want to get your take. hogan, first of all, if your old boss rick santorum had gotten the nomination, would he have released more tax returns? >> oh, we did. we released, like, six years. we wanted to release ten and the only reason we couldn't release the full decade was because rick does his own taxes and they were on another computer that the family had since gotten rid of. that's the reason we didn't release '10. it's very interesting because

obviously ann's right to a large degree and that is, you know, do you want to get attacked for not releasing all those taxes or do you want to get attacked for what's in those taxes? and that's really the debate right here. quite frankly, republicans calling for mitt romney to release those taxes, there's a couple things going on here. one of them is selfishness. we're tired of coming on the shows and having the conversation about mitt romney's tax returns. we want to get past that and focus on obama's abysmal record. it's selfish. we want to get rid of those taxes so we can fox cus on the other issues. >> tell your candidate to start having transparency and di disclosing information. it's not just democrats makes the charges. republicans are saying the same things. obama campaign is saying, are exactly the same words republicans were saying about mitt romney. newt gingrich called mitt romney a liar who said he never heard of a president before who had a

swiss bank account. michele bachmann called him a chameleon and rick perry called him a vulture capitalist. if republicans are saying these things about your nominee, what do you expect the democrats to say? >> hogan, is the concern with the returns that he is far wealthier than we realize, or is the concern he paid, he perhaps paid a far lower rate than many americans would be comfortable with? >> well, being on the inside of one of these campaigns, craig, i can tell you, there is no lack of strategy advice from the peanut gallery. those who aren't in the race and don't have the facts you have behind the scenes. i'm not exactly sure what they're not wanting to show, but, look, this has been an issue throughout his political career and obviously that campaign is smart. they know what they're doing to a large degree, as we could argue that. but i think they know what they're doing here and they've made the political calculation that what's in those will hurt far worse than the attacks for not releasing them. that's where we are today. >> keith boykin, how do you think this tax return stuff

plays out? >> i think it's going to get bigger than just tax returns. people are going to ask other questions about his finances. how do you get $101 million in an i.r.a., for example, if you have a limit of $5,000 or $6,000 you can contribute? that doesn't make any sense. people are going to ask questions about why are you listed as ceo and managing director of bain for three years and you say you're not doing anything but you're profiting from it getting $100,000 or more in salary and collecting profit from the benefits at bain? you can't have it both ways and say you're not responsible for what bain does after 1999 then collecting a profit from what bain is doing. people are going to ask questions about these things until mitt romney gives us straight answers. >> rachel, the conversation does seem to continue to be dominated by these types of discussions. however, there is a new poll out. "new york times"/cbs poll shows voters think mitt romney's policies will favor the rich. while president obama's policies are more equal. can romney win? can he win the white house if he

continues to feed this narrative? that he's just as wealthy as he is out of touch? >> the polls show that president obama is still vulnerable on the economy which is why every day that president obama keeps the national conversation about mitt romney's tax returns, it's a win for obama. romney would like to talk about the president's economic stewardship and the high unemployment rate and the disappointing jobs report. he has not been able to focus on that, but the "times" poll shows that's an area of vulnerability. has been and will continue to be likely until we see more improvement in the jobs numbers. >> i know that yesterday in ohio mitt romney said that his vp pick would be, quote, a true conservati conservative. any more word on that? do we know more about that? >> we're still waiting to hear on that. that's another thing that could change the conversation at least a little bit, although if it's not a surprising pick, the obama campaign will of course quickly try to get back to the narrative of who is mitt romney, is he out

of touch with working class, with middle class americans? >> keith, who do you think he goes with? i like to play the vp stakes three or four times a day. >> rob portman, somebody who's safe and predictable and boring who fits into his script. i don't think he's going to go outside the box if he does the sarah palin thing to be a game changer. whoever they pick is going it to raise questions about his credibility and his decision making. he's got to make the choice, a good choice in order for him to be credible. >> hogan, how conservative -- go ahead. >> i was going to say, he makes a very valid point. i think until we solve this tax issue, until romney comes out and says it's not going to happen anymore, i'm not releasing anything else, he's kind of giving a half answer at this point. all a vice presidential nominee will do is allow the press to ask the vice presidential nominee, why aren't you releasing more taxes? do you resent you had to release more taxes than mitt romney did? it's going to go into that whole thing. it's another person for the press to bang on if they don't

solve this before the nominee is released. >> that's right. >> look at that. hogan gidley and keith boykin agreeing. rare occurrence. rachel, keith, hogan, appreciate your time this afternoon. developing news concerning syria. china and russia blocking u.n. sanctions against the assad regime for the brutal crackdown in that country. we'll have a live report as the nation appears to be nearing a tipping point. plus -- >> do you feel you wouldn't be here for this interview if you didn't have that gun? >> no, sir. >> you feel you would not be here? >> i feel that it was all god's plan. >> george zimmerman giving his first television interview after shooting and killing trayvon martin. we'll hear from zimmerman. plus reaction from the martin family on that comment about god's plan. and, of course, you can always join our conversation on twitter. there we are right there @newsnation. one word. s my friend frank and his, uh, retirement plan. one golden crown. come on frank how long have we known each other?

go to e-trade. they got killer tools man. they'll help you nail a retirement plan that's fierce. two golden crowns. you realize the odds of winning are the same as being mauled by a polar bear and a regular bear in the same day? frank! oh wow, you didn't win? i wanna show you something... it's my shocked face. [ gasps ] ♪ [ male announcer ] get a retirement plan that works at e-trade. i've got a nice long life ahead. big plans. so when fod out medicare doesn't pay all my medical expenses, i t a mecare supplement insurance plan. [ male announcer ] if you're eligible for medicare, your pa b medical expens. the rest is up to you. call and find out about an aarp medicare supplement insurance plan, insured by unitedhealthcare insurance company. like all standardized medicare supplement plans, it could save you thousands in out-of-pocket costs. call now to request your free decision guide. i've been with my doctor for 12 years.

now i know i'll be abl to stick with him. you'll be able to visit any doctor or hospital that accepts medicare patients. plus, there are no networks, and you never need a referral. see why millions of people havelready enrolled in the only medicare supplemt insurance plans endorsedy aarp don't wait. call now. o0 c1 our current dividend tax rate will expire this year, sending taxes through the roof and hindering economic recovery. the consequences? millions of americans will see their taxes on dividend income spike, slowing investment in u.s. companies and jeopardizing development in energy projects that create american jobs. ask congress to stop a dividend tax hike -- for all of us.

mitt romney in roxbury, massachusetts, suburb of boston there. he just started speaking moments ago. let's take a listen. >> someone else isn't responsible for what he did here. he's the one that took the risk. he's the one that built this enterprise. he's the one responsible for helping get these people these jobs. and then the people who work here, they're also responsible for helping build this business. they came together and did it together. this is not the result of government. this is the result of people who take risk, who have dreams, who build for themselves and for their families. now, i know there are some people who think what the president has said was just a gaffe. it wasn't a gaffe. it was instead his ideology. the president does, in fact, believe that people who build

enterprises like this really aren't responsible for it. but, in fact, it's a collective success of the whole society that somehow builds enterprises like this. in my view, we ought to have to celebrate people who start enterprises and employ other people. the president, by the way, in his remarks went on not just to talk about if you have a business, you didn't build it, he went on to talk about other measures of success. he said if you think you're smart, well a lot of other smart people, and if you think you're working hard, there are a lot of other hardworking people. where was he going with that? what's he trying to say? that we don't celebrate and reward success and achievement? my own view is if you attack success, you'll continue to see what we've seen over these last 3 1/2 years. which is less success. america is a nation which is defined by people coming to achieve, to fulfill their dreams. we're a nation of risk takers, dreamers, people that want to

take a better step for the future for themselves and for their kids and in the process of doing so, they make us better off. they lift one another. i just don't think the president, by his comments, suggests an understanding of what it is that makes america such a unique nation. why people have come here for hundreds of years. it's because this is the land of opportunity. we welcome people here with dreams and say to them, come build it. not come here because government will give it to you. but come here because this is a place where your dreams will be good for you and good for your entire nation. now, i want to say thanks to the maloneys for opening their shop today and for members of their team for welcoming me here today. i'm sorry to slow things down in the shop, but we know nonetheless that these guys have a lot of work to do and i don't want to keep them away from it. with no further adieu, i'm going to introduce the founder of this business who built it. brian maloney.

brian? [ applause ] >> mitt romney there. roxbury, massachusetts, a suburb of boston at a plant there where they fix trucks and buses, talking about, took some shots there, as you heard, took some shots at the president, saying, quote, he doesn't understand what makes america a unique nation. also playing off the line we just talked about moments ago, playing off the "you didn't build that" line. it's sort of the same tone the romney campaign is using in a new web ad as well. there was mitt romney just outside boston, massachusetts. president obama in jacksonville, florida, just took the stage there. let's listen to his comments. >> because no matter where i went, no matter what mustn't, inner city, rural town, meeting with black folks, white folks, latinos, asians, native americans, didn't matter what background people came from.

no matter how much they look different on the surface, there was a common thread to all the stories that i heard as i traveled around the state. i meet an elderly couple and they'd remind me of my grandparents. i'd think about my grandfather who thought in patton's army in world war ii. my grandmother working on a bomber assembly line while he was gone. and when he came back, he was rewarded with a chance to go to college on the gi bill. they were able to buy their first home with an fha loan. and i think about the journey that they had traveled and everything that that greatest generation had done to build america. or i meet a middle class couple, and i think about michelle's parents, especially her dad who had multiple sclerosis, so by the time i met him, he could

barely walk. had to use two canes. had to wake up an hour earlier than everybody else to get to work because that's how long it took to get him dressed but would not miss a day of work. i think about michelle's mom who ended up working as a secretary for most of her life and how despite the fact that they never had a lot, they were able to give michelle and michelle's brother the best education possible. and how remarkable that was, this country we live in. then i'd meet a single mom and i'd think about my own mother who raised my sister and me with the help of my grandparents because my dad left when i was a baby. and my mom didn't have a lot of money, but she worked hard and she went to school. at the same time. so that she could give her two children the best education

possible and they could travel on a path that she couldn't have even imagined. so the people i met in that first campaign and every campaign since, they had all kinds of different stories, all kinds of different backgrounds. they were young and old and every race and every faith, gays, straight, democrat, republican, independent. but all of them shared the belief in that core american experience, that basic idea, that core bargain that makes us this shining example for the world. the idea that no matter where you come from, no matter who you are, no matter what you look like, america's a place where you can make it if you try. you know, as americans we don't expect handouts, but we expect

hard work to pay off. we understand there will be setbacks, but we also know that responsibility should be rewarded. we believe that if you put enough effort into it, enough elbow grease into it, you should be able to find a job that pays the bills. should be able to have a home that you call your own. health care that you can count on if you get sick. you should be able to retire with dignity and respect. you should be able to provide your children with an education that gives them an even better shot than you had. that's what we believe. >> jacksonville, florida, there addressing a crowd talking about home ownership, retirement, jobs, saying at one point, quote, responsibility should be rewarded.

and, again, just moments before that, we heard from mitt romney just outside boston, massachusetts. the two candidates giving dueling speeches on the east coast today. the president beginning a two-day swing in florida. once again, demonstrating just how important florida is going to be this election. just as it was the last election. and the election before that as well. we're going to pivot now. we're come back to politics in just a moment. but some developing news out of syria on this thursday as well. russia and china have vetoed a u.n. security council resolution that would have threatened sanctions on president assad's government. this leaving the future of the u.n.'s peace keeping forces in syria in limbo. meanwhile, syrian state media released this picture. there's the picture that was released by syrian state media. it shows president assad on the right there swearing in a new defense minister to replace general daoud rajha who was

killed yesterday in damascus. his brother-in-law was also killed in the bombing. at the white house, reaction by russia to block the u.n. resolution. jay carney telling reporters the decision by a small minority of the security council, two of the five members, saying that decision is regrettable. two of the five permanent members i should note. he also said those who veto the measures are on the wrong side of history. joining me now, jim frederick, he is the international editor for "time" magazine. jim, good afternoon to you. >> thanks, good to be here. >> this is the third time russia has vetoed a u.n. resolution since the uprising began in syria. what is -- what's their biggest objection or, i guess i should say, what do they say their biggest objection or worry is? >> russia? >> yes. >> russia's biggest objection, putin has said pretty clearly, is that this is an internal matter and russia as a matter of course doesn't feel like it or anybody else should meddle in syria's internal affairs. a lot of the rest of the world

sees it differently. they say assad as a brutal dictator and are calling for regime change. it doesn't -- it's not coincidental that russia also has its only non-russian port in syria. they have a lot of warship assets there. so they're interested in protecting their own strategic and military assets in syria. >> let's talk about yesterday's attack, how devastating pe inin to the assad regime tactically and psychologically. >> it took out three of the iner circle. more than that it must have been devastating psychologically because the rebels demonstrated they can reach assad any time, anywhere and has to give doubt in his mind there might be informants and defectors within his very tight group of inner circle of 15 or 20 ministers who run the country. there might be a mole or insider in that group. >> rebel forces at this point appear to be very close, closer than they had been since the uprising started there, closer

to taking control of damascus. if that happens, does that make assad's position totally untenable? >> well, i mean, this might be the tipping point. i mean, absolutely this attack and the fact there have been running gun battles in damascus for five days straight makes it look like his so lidty and stability is more perilous than others. i won't say he can't continue to rule the country if damascus falls but this might be the moment the world has been looking to that his very rule might be in peril. >> what does a post-assad syria, what does it look like? and what happens with the chemical weapons in that country? >> it looks pretty messy. that's one of the things people have not begun to appreciate is we haven't really looked beyond assad and, in fact, this is a loosely affiliated country of a bunch of vested interests, you know, you have unaffiliated shias, you have sunnis. this country could -- we need to be prepared with the fact

without leadership or guidance from outside this country could evolve into a full-scale civil war. >> iran, the apparent suicide bombing in bulgaria yesterday targeting israelis. israel pointing the finger at iran saying they are waging, quote, a campaign of terror. how worried should we be tensions between these two countries are that close to escalating as well? >> well, it couldn't get much worse and yet it has. so it's very worrying. israel has come out very forcefully to say that this is hezbollah and this is, you know, an iran-backed terrorist attack. we don't know that. i mean, even bulgaria has backed away from saying conclusively if this is iran or hezbollah until we have more data. i would say this is just another strike in the ongoing proxy wars and war from afar that iran and israel already have. i'm not sure this is going to be the hair trigger that makes both countries descend into a full-scale shooting war, but it certainly doesn't help. >> jim frederick, we always appreciate your incite, sir.

thank you so much. international editor "time" magazine. do you regret getting out of the car to follow trayvon that night? >> no, sir. >> is there anything you might do differently? in retrospect now that time has passed a little bit? >> no, sir. >> george zimmerman in his first television interview. he says he's sorry but has no regrets about what happened the night trayvon martin was killed. we're live in sanford, florida, with reaction from the martin family. also a florida woman falls victim to the state's voter purge. not once, but twice. florida officials said she was dead, but she's not. in fact, she's so alive she's going to join us to talk about why she's so upset. and don't forget, check out our "news nation" tumblr page. we have a lot of folks who spend a lot of time working on the tumblr page. newsnation.tumblr.com.

i hope i have not oversold it. no problem. you want to save money on rv insurance? no problem. you want to save money on motorcycle insurance? no problem. you want to find a place to park all these things? fuggedaboud it. this is new york. hey little guy, wake up! aw, come off it mate! geico. saving people money on more than just car insurance.

our current dividend tax rate will expire this year, sending taxes through the roof and hindering economic recovery. the consequences? millions of americans will see their taxes on dividend income spike, slowing investment in u.s. companies and jeopardizing development in energy projects that create american jobs. ask congress to stop a dividend tax hike -- for all of us.

for the first time the man who shot and killed trayvon martin is speaking out publicly. george zimmerman talked to fox news. while he apoll swr popologized the teenager, the former neighborhood watch captain says he has no regrets. >> i feel that it was all god's plan and for me to second guess it or judge it -- >> is there anything you might do differently in retrospect now that time has passed a little bit? >> no, sir. >> nbc's gabe gutierrez is live in sanford, florida, with more on this story. gabe? >> reporter: hi there, craig. zimmerman did raise some eyebrows with the phrasing of that comment on the fox news channel show "hannity" last night. he continues to insist he did nothing wrong, that the shooting of 17-year-old trayvon martin was self-defense. >> do you regret getting out of

the car to follow trayvon that night? >> no, sir. >> do you regret that you -- you had a gun that night? >> no, sir. >> reporter: now, zimmerman first noticed trayvon martin he says that night when he was hanging around the townhome complex here in sanford, florida, in the rain. now, so big question is, why did zimmerman actually follow trayvon martin after a police dispatcher had told him not to? zimmerman says he wasn't actually pursuing martin, but he was actually just keeping a close eye on him so he could tell police where he was, but despite his earlier comments about not having any regrets, he closed the interview with a sort of -- he back tracked a little bit and clarified his earlier statement. >> i do wish that there was something, anything i could have done that wouldn't have put me in the position where i had to take his life.

and i do want to tell everyone, my wife, my family, my parents, my grandmother, the martins, the city of sanford and america that i'm sorry that this happened. >> reporter: craig, back to you. >> hey, gabe, before i let you get out of here. trayvon martin's parents were on the "today" show this morning. what was their reaction to what george zimmerman had to say last night? >> reporter: craig, say seem to be very upset. they responded directly to zimmerman's description of the whole incident as god's plan and his feeling there was a rush to judgment. >> i really think that's ridiculous. i wish trayvon was here to tell his side of the story, and i don't believe that's god's plan for him to kill an innocent teenager. >> i think by him saying there's a rush to judgment, if there was a rush to judgment for him to think that trayvon was

suspicious. so, you know, for him to think that we're rushing to judge, he rushed to judge trayvon. >> reporter: for now, zimmerman remains free on bail here in semin seminole ktand pleaded not guil. back to politics, mitt romney's wife ann came out swinging in response to obama campaign's attacks of her husband over his tenure at bain capital. >> i believe it was beneath the dignity of the office of the president to do something as egregious as that. to attack someone on that level is, i believe, beneath his dignity. >> well, there is new reporting today on how romney raised the money to start bain capital. back in 1984. nbc news senior political editor mark murray joins us live from washington, d.c., with more on this part of the story. mark, what do we know? >> the "chicago tribune's" "l.a.

times" reported much of the original seed money from bain capital came from foreign investors and the money actually came through corporations regist registered in panama which actually gave very preferential tax treatment. you didn't have to pay a whole lot of taxes. and so this story actually highlights the nebulous world of offshore accounts, tax perks for very wealthy folks that have been dogging mitt romney and his campaign now for a couple of weeks. >> there's the headline there of the article that you just mentioned, bain capital started with help of offshore investors. we should note here, of course, the romney campaign responding today, their response, here it is in part, quote, president obama's own jobs council advocating more foreign direct investment in the u.s. to help grow the economy, something president obama himself has been unable to do, as illustrated by the recent downgrades in gdp forecast. how these investors chose to

invest is their decision, not bain capital's. do you think, mark murray, do you think any of this adds fuel to the fire over romney's tenure at bai? >> you know, craig, i think the danger for romney campaign is there's almost going to be a drip-drip nature. you're going to have articles that come out like today's "chicago tribune," "los angeles times" piece about how bain got started, with additional reporting we saw yesterday that mitt romney was listed on the salt lake city olympic's website as the ceo of bain capital after he said he had actually gone to work at the olympics, really kind of clouding up all that issue of when he actually left bain capital. and given the fact that the romney campaign has pretty much gone ahead and said, look, we're not going to answer more questions about bain capital, when these stories actually pop up, that could be potentially damaging for them. >> before i let you get out of here, really quickly, "the new york times"/cbs news poll just out today asking if romney's experience as head of bain

capital would make respondents more or less likely to vote for it. take a look at the response. 14% said they're more likely. 23% said they're less likely. 60% say it had no effect. what does that tell you about the effectiveness of the obama campaign's attacks so far? >> craig, it mirrors our findings in our nbc/"wall street journal" follow. what "the new york times"/cbs poll didn't look into is how people in the battleground states are viewing this, in ohio, pennsylvania, a lot of the industrial midwest states. that poll didn't reveal that. our nbc/"wall street journal" poll showed it's worse in the battleground states than elsewhere. >> thank you, sir, appreciate it. a florida woman in a fight for her life. now that election officials declared her dead twice. she is the latest face in the voter i.d. battle. a brand new stud ty from the

brennan center for justice shows one in ten americans lack the necessary government issued photo i.d. needed in ten states. we put the ten states on your screen there. just this week the feds are letting florida governor rick scott use a federal database of noncitizens to help purge the polls of people who may not be eligible to vote in florida. joining me now, connie smith, the florida voter who's been removed from the rolls there, and she's been removed twice. good to see you living. >> nice to be living. >> for folks who haven't been following this story, we also should note here we talked to the state and they seau are now an active voter. they have corrected this error for a second time. but for folks who haven't been following this thing, what happened? >> well, four years ago, my family received a notice in the mail from the supervisor of elections stating that i was removed because i had died.

through investigation and quite lengthy, as a matter of fact, i realized that there was a woman with the same name in miami, not the same middle name as mine, but we also had the same exact date of birth, who had died. and they were confusing me with her. and it took going to the department of vital statistics to get, have a certified letter of non-death that they went through all the death certificates and did not find me there. that was four years ago. >> as we noted here a few moments ago, we reached out, got a statement here from florida. here it is in far. their spokesperson saying to us, quote, florida has an obligation to ensure voter rolls are current and accurate. laws exist that allow anyone alone yoa

alone yously removed to be immediately restored on the voter rolls even if the problem wasn't recognized until the person arrived at the polling place. is that acceptable to you? >> not really, because that -- the voting was not the issue before. that was the first notification i had. it was everything that came after it. because it was just -- that began the snowball effect that my driver's license was invalidated. social security was notified. and it was just -- it was a real ordeal to try to get -- to find out which list was going to hit next that i would have to prove my self being alive. >> and my understanding is the second time you got an absentee ballot in the mail the same day you got the notification essentially saying you were dead? >> i did. it came in the exact same mail delivery. >> and you cried?

>> i'm beginning to wish i hadn't said that, but yes, i did. i was just -- and it wasn't because they declared me dead, it was because, oh, no, i've got to go through all of this all over again to prove that i am alive. >> tears of frustration. >> yes. absolutely. >> connie smith, it is fantastic, again, to see you kicking and breathing there in florida. good luck to you. >> thank you so much. thank you. will you get a refund? capital one ordered to pay millions after accusations it ripped off customers. it's the first time we've seen the president's new consumer watchdog agency in action. we're going to take a closer look at the alleged trickery. first, though, there's a lot going on today. here are just a few of the things we thought you should know. the pro-obama super pac priorities usa just got a huge infusion of cash from a big hollywood star. there he is. actor morgan freeman dropping 1 million bucks to help the president stay in the white

house. you might remember that it was morgan freeman who recently stirred up quite a bit of controversy when he said that america has not seen its first black president, calling barack obama the nation's, quote, first mixed race president. the hbo movie "game change" got an emmy nomination this morning for best mini series movie. political drama adapted from the best selling book followed 2008 mccain/palin campaign. moore and co-starwooddy harrelson also received best actor nominations for their roles in "game change." and funny guys will ferrell and zach in chicago promoting their election year spoof film. the campaign. while they were in the windy city they stopped by wrigley field to toss out the first pitch and announced the cubs' starting lineup. >> batting sixth, and playing catcher in his spare time, he's an accountant at a styrofoam

cooler company, number 18, geovany soto. >> batting seventh and playing second base, he likes taking long walks on the beach, completely naked, number 15, darwin barny. [ mrs. hutchison ] friday night has always been all fun and games here at the hutchison household. but one dark stormy evening... there were two things i could tell: she needed a good meal and a good family. so we gave her what our other cats love, purina cat chow complete. it's the best because it has something for all of our cats! and after a couple of weeks she was healthy, happy, and definitely part of the family. we're so lucky that lucy picked us. [ female announcer ] purina cat chow complete. always there for you.

a new lawsuit against key american military officials tops our look at stories around the "news nation" today. civil rights groups are now challenging the constitutionality of those deadly drone attacks against three americans in yemen last year. secretary of defense leon panetta and cia director david

pa tr me tray yous is named in the lawsuit. a judge ordered a tennessee county to allow an opening of a controversial mosque. the contentious fine has been in and out of court since 2010. a separate judge previously blocked construction of the mosque. now worshippers are hoping to celebrate ramadan inside the among when the annual celebration begins tonight at sundown. president obama's new consumer financial protection bureau fined capital one bank for what it calls deceptive practices. the bank will have to pay some $210 million to customers. the average payout is expected to be less than $100 per person. capital one will also pay tens of millions in fines. and an injury is forcing rafael nadal out of the olympic games a week before they start. but the defending tennis singles champ would not say what that injury is. nadal was set to be spain's flag

bearer during the opening ceremonies. he calls pulling out of the olympics one of the saddest moments of his career. back to decision 2012 now. their father is the man of hour in the republican party, but believe it or not, mitt romney's five sons, more than half didn't want him to run in 2012. nbc's peter alexander sat down with craig, ben, matt, josh and tag. tag is the easy one. >> we're going to quiz you at the end of this. >> what did you learn when you sat down with the romney five? >> four of the five of them didn't want him to run in 2012 this time around. they said, dad, you gave it your best shot in 2008, it didn't work out, let's move on to something else. i think what's most compelling as you talk to these guys, we almost never hear them speak. o kiccasionally on the trail yol see them. sometimes they're mocked as being bland or vanilla. >> there's the "snl" skit. >> the "snl" skit that weighed into that, that they wear blue shirts and khakis. we had fun with that as well. the campaign is clearly trying

to orchestrate this. here's how they hope they will sort of give a better sense of the idiosyncratic moments and what they really show. take a listen. >> he's a little goofy. that's just, you know, that's part of his charm i think. >> we were with him recently who sayed, i was gafieing when i look at the picture. >> you heard him say some of the things, one point he said, i love them like they're my own sons and they are my own sons. >> it's the corny jokes we grew up with. it's part of his personality. >> reporter: they share stories of their father's love for their mom, ann, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis before their dad was recruited to run the olympics. >> my dad had the opportunity to run a leg of the torch and he chose my mom who had been battling with ms. she was able to actually take the torch and run the quarter mile or so. it was just a really neat

bonding moment for us and a really neat experience to see her participate in something so meaningful to all of us. >> reporter: the brothers are all married with families of their own. mitt romney now has 18 grandchildren. if he wins, he'll have more grandkids than any sitting president in u.s. history. >> so that's a quick look at romney brothers. we have more of it tonight on "rock sencenter." one of the questions i asked, all five of them served overseas on two year mormon missions serving their church. i asked them whether they ever considered serving their country in the military. their answer to that was interesting, too. >> what did they have to say about the campaign so far? what was their take? >> i think they get it. they're clearly part of this. this is an orchestrated effort. they recognize they're there to make their dad seem more human. he's mocked sometimes as aloof or awkward, of course. they sort of round out the edges of his squareness if you will a little bit.

they're good guys. we enjoyed being with them. we don't know much about them just yet. >> we're very much looking forward to your report tonight. again, as pete just mentioned there, it is on "rock center." his full report on romney five. "rock center with brian williams" 10:00 p.m. eastern on your local nbc station. still ahead right here, "news nation" gut check. make-a-wish foundation trying to make a disney dream come true for a 4-year-old cancer survivor, but the dream was dashed by the girl's own father because he says the organization shouldn't be spending money on children who are cured. so what does your gut tell you? of course, don't forget as always, join the "news nation." we are on the facebook. there we are. facebook.com/newsnation. [ ryan ] luck doesn't get you to the olympic games. ♪ you can't wish your way onto the podium. ♪ you can't buy it or hope for it. ♪

it's not enough to dream about it. ♪ luck didn't get me to london. i swam here. ♪ [ children laughing ] ♪ ...is the smell of salt in the air. ♪ it's the sound a seashell makes. [ seagulls calling ] away...is a place that's beyond your imagination, yet well within your means. find your away. for a dealer and the rv that's right for you, visit gorving.com. would you mind if to bev i go ahead of you?omer. instead we had someone go ahead of him and win fifty thousand dollars. congratulations you are our one millionth customer. people don't like to miss out on money that should have been theirs.

that's why at ally we have the raise your rate 2-year cd. you can get a one-time rate increase if our two-year rate goes up. if your bank makes you miss out, you need an ally. ally bank. no nonsense. just people sense.

time fornation" gut check. a 4-year-old girl in ohio survived lieukemileukemia, make

foundation gave her a gift, but the father says make-a-wish money should go to kids who have months to live, not those who are cured. her mother said she went through years of chemotherapy and spinal taps before kicking the illness so her mother says she deserves to go. the charity requires both parents sign off for a child to accept the trip. the make-a-wish foundation defines who's eligible on their website, quote, a child with a life threatening medical condition who has reached the age of 2 1/2 and is under the age of 18 at the time of referral. potentially eligible for a wish. the charity's regional president says makenna qualifies after going through difficulties over two years and it's unfortunate her father won't sign off on the trip. her mom and grandmother are now collecting private donations to still make the trip to disney world. so what does your gut tell you?

do you agree with makenna mae's father who says make a wish should not spend money on children who have been cured or do you not agree? go to facebook.com/newsnation to vote. take a look at what "news nation" is saying about yesterday's gut check. we asked will mitt romney's vp pick matter? 9% of you said yes. 91% said no. that does it for this edition of "news nation." i'm craig melvin in for tamron hall. catch "news nation" every weekday 2:00 p.m. eastern on msnbc. "the cycle." there they are. "the cycle" is up next. find out more at... [ duck ] aflac! [ male announcer ] ...forbusiness.com. ♪ ha ha! ♪ clusters of pustules, pimples. i had this shingle rash right next to my spine. the soreness was excruciating. it was impossible to even think about dancing.

when you're dancing, your partner is holding you. so, his hand would have been right in the spot that i had the shingles. no tango. no rhumba. you can't be touched. for more of the inside story, visit shinglesinfo.com

begins with back pain and a choice. take advil, and maybe have to take up to four in a day. or take aleve, which can relieve pain all day with just two pills. good eye.

you see both starting pitchers are getting knocked around a

bit. tv stations running all those ads and collecting money for them. yay for us. so on the cycle we have baseball. ♪ >> taxes on $43 million in income. makes you wonder if some years you pay any taxes at all. we don't know because romney has released just one full year of his tax returns and won't release anything before 2010. >> you kno